DAVID ELLEFSON And JEFF SCOTT SOTO Release Covers Of ELVIS PRESLEY And FEAR Classics

ELLEFSON-SOTO, the project featuring former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and acclaimed metal vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, has released two new cover songs today, paying tribute to two legendary forces in music: the king of rock and roll Elvis Presley and Los Angeles punk rock icons FEAR. Both songs were recorded and filmed live during the Rogue Recording sessions inside the legendary Battery Studios in London, U.K. in July 2025.

The releases arrive just ahead of ELLEFSON-SOTO's upcoming performances at the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood, California on Thursday, April 9, and aboard the Monsters Of Rock cruise, sailing April 12–17. These tracks deliver a punch in the face while celebrating classic songs re-imagined for 2026.

Ellefson explains the inspiration behind the recordings: "The band FEAR has been a staple of our attitude and style of music from the beginning. And Elvis Presley has only become more legendary in recent years with so many films and documentaries about his iconic life. Let's face it — he's the one who showed us all how rock stardom was done from the start. So we thought it fitting to honor the king of rock and roll and the kings of punk rock at the same time.”

Soto adds: "We wanted as many tools as possible to lure you into our recent album 'Unbreakable' so we all met up in London to make a few more videos for ya! BUT these two songs are NOT on the album — instead they are two cover jams that gave us more reason to have fun together… familiar in the punk world, FEAR's 'I Don't Care About You' and Elvis's 'Jailhouse Rock', delivered with in-your-face, no-mercy power!”

The songs were recorded by Alessio Garavello at Rogue Recording in London, U.K., with video editing by Elia Turra. Special thanks to Blackstar Amps for providing the wall of sound during the sessions.

ELLEFSON-SOTO has released two albums so far through Rat Pak Records: "Vacation In The Underworld" (2022) and "Unbreakable" (2025).

ELLEFSON-SOTO lineup:

Jeff Scott Soto - Vocals
David Ellefson - Bass
Andy Martongelli - Guitars
Walter Cianciusi - Guitars
Paolo Caridi - Drums

To officially launch the ELLEFSON-SOTO project, Ellefson and Soto played concerts in September 2022 in Italy where they performed some of the music as well as ran through various catalog highlights, including selections from MEGADETH and Yngwie Malmsteen. They were joined by Martongelli as the musical director, as well as Caridi on drums and Valerio De Rosa on rhythm guitar.

In March 2021 — two months before David was fired from MEGADETH — Ellefson and Soto announced that they had been collaborating on some new material under the moniker ELLEFSON-SOTO. The ELLEFSON-SOTO version of the RIOT classic "Swords & Tequila" was simultaneously released across all digital streaming outlets via Ellefson's Combat Records.

When Ellefson's collaboration with Soto was first announced, David said in a statement: "Jeff and I have been friends for so many years that it's great to finally collaborate on some material together. He has such a distinctive voice and perfect style for some new ideas my guitarist Andy Martongelli and I have been composing. We are excited about the progress of it all and thought this would be a perfect time to give a little sneak preview."

David was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.